Printing math art with the BCN3D Sigma

In the last newsletter you could see the BCN3D Sigma printing with water soluble supports and it was explained the reason why a second extruder is necessary for do it.

Today we will be taking a closer look at the water soluble’s world and also at the Math Art. Dizingof is the greatest exponent of Math Art in the world of 3d printing. Finally, you will see a nice video where we were printing a piece of extreme geometric complexity that is based on the Math Art, a real challenge for the BCN3D Sigma!

We are glad to announce a new cooperation with Dizingof, which has released some exclusive designs for BCN3D Technologies. Today we introduce the Truncated Icosahedron.

In the link above you can see an interactive image of the Truncated Icosahedron. Whether you’re on a smartphone, tablet or PC, you can slide over the image with the mouse or your finger to see the piece in 360 degrees!

The image above is interactive. Whether you’re on a smartphone, tablet or PC, you can slide over the image with the mouse or your finger to see the piece in 360 degrees!

Dizingof has written a few words about Math Art, design software used to design this piece and most importantly, the inspiration.

“When it comes to designing a Mathematical Art, it’s all about the base geometry you choose to start with. There are lots of free, open source, software tools that allow you to create 3 dimensional shapes in an odd and unique ways.

For example, I designed this Truncated Icosahedron using a free tool called TopMod. You can google it for a free download link and lots of video tutorials. TopMod enables you to manipulate surfaces or an entire shape to create some mind boggling shapes. This Truncated Icosahedron started as a simple “Soccer Ball” shape on TopMod.

Start with the base shapes on top of the screen, then play with the different creative tools on menu to: move, deform, bend, and many, many other methods to create an entirely new 3D model. Once your 3D model has thickness, you are ready to 3D print it.

The Truncated Icosahedron was 3D printed on a BCN3D Sigma 3D printer using PLA and water soluble PVA for support structures. This is a very complex geometry that can not be made using conventional manufacturing methods. Once the PVA support structures are completely dissolved, you can see the Art.”

The print of the Truncated Icosahedron with the BCN3D Sigma

In the following video you can see the manufacture of the piece and the subsequent dissolution of the supports. The Truncated Icosaedron took 24 hours to print in our BCN3D Sigma. The PVA has taken to dissolve approximately 7 hours. The software used to generate the printing code (.gcode) has been the BCN3D Cura and the work piece material has been PLA Passion Red from Colorfila. The support material has been PVA from Esun.

Printing time: 24 hours

Layer height: 150 microns

Infill: 0%

Number of perimeters: 3

Dizingof has a BCN3D Sigma so he can carry out these prints so complex. You can follow his adventures on his twitter.